Data Is Beautiful did a video timeline of the highest grossest movies, from 1976 to 2022. "The Godfather", "Jaws", and "Star Wars" dominated until 1982, when "E.T." hit #1 and stayed there until 1997, when it was passed by "Titanic".
"Titanic" held on until 2010 when director James Cameron topped himself with "Avatar", which remained at the top.
(Here's the video. The numbers adjust according to inflation.)